Enrico Letta on Future of Europe

Enrico Letta views the Future of Europe through the urgent necessity of strengthening the European Union to ensure its strategic autonomy and competitiveness globally, especially against powers like the United States and China. This perspective is encapsulated in his 2024 report, 'Much more than a market,' commissioned by the European Council, which diagnoses fragmentation as a key risk to Europe's place in the world. He believes that achieving strategic autonomy is now an absolute need, moving past previous debates where the concept was divisive, driven by geopolitical realities like Russian aggression and global economic competition.

His proposed roadmap for the 2024–2029 cycle focuses heavily on modernizing the Single Market through structural reforms, emphasizing that Europe must be better at execution rather than merely strategy. Key implications include integrating finance, energy, and telecommunications into the Single Market, establishing a 'Union of Savings and Investment' to fund transitions, and creating a 'fifth freedom' encompassing research, innovation, and education. Letta stresses that while Europe is imperfect, it is irreplaceable, and this current moment represents a 'last chance' to act decisively to avoid decline and secure a more united, competitive, and resilient future.